epothilone-a and Nail-Diseases

We present the cases of two patients diagnosed with non-microcytic lung carcinoma who were treated with epothilone, a new chemotherapeutic agent which disrupts microtubule dynamics. The first one developed nail symptoms consisting of painful nails with a hemorrhagic appearance, which developed into significant structural disorders and onycholysis of all of the fingernails. The patient required antibiotic treatment for the associated paronychia and surgical removal of some of the nails. In the second case, asymptomatic dyschromia of the toenails appeared, with no inflammatory component. These findings show the similarity of the adverse effects of epothilone with those of the taxanes.

Topics: Aged; Epothilones; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Nail Diseases